


Plan A

by tsukinofaerii



Category: Little Mermaid (1989)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-08
Updated: 2013-01-08
Packaged: 2017-11-24 02:59:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/629581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukinofaerii/pseuds/tsukinofaerii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'll swim up to his castle. Then Flounder will splash around to get his attention—"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Plan A

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snowynight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowynight/gifts).



Ariel flicked her fins, using the currents to speed her along. Determination set her mouth in a firm line, but it twitched now and then with excitement and nerves. The ocean floor was far below, seaweed waving in the distance. Every now and then, she could see a light as someone passed by, but for the most part it was dark. No one came this far out from Atlantica.

And if they did, they didn't look up. 

At her side, Flounder swam in little swirls and twists. "Under the sea, under the seaaa," he sang softly, looping under her fins and darting ahead before doing a neat twist to come back to her. "Come on, Ariel. Why are you so sour?" Flipping around, he swam upside down for a little while, frowning exaggeratedly so that it turned into a giant smile. 

She couldn't help it—she giggled. "Flounder," Ariel sighed, grabbing his fins and flipping him around. "I'm just..."

"Angry? Confused? Sick?"

"Nervous," Ariel confessed in a small voice, gliding to a floating stop, using just little twitches of her fins to keep floating. "What if he doesn't like me?" 

"Ariel." Flounder swam closer, until his nose bumped up against her cheek. "He's going to love you." 

In a burst of affection, she hugged Flounder up to her chest. "You're the greatest," Ariel murmured, giving him one last squeeze before letting him go and speeding off past him. "Come on! We don't want to be late!"

* * *

Above the water, the air was crisp and fresh, giving Ariel little goosebumps up her arms. They were so close to the castle that the water felt dirty, used, but she could put up with a little grime to see _him_ again.

She hid behind a rock, peeking around to watch as Eric wandered along the beach. He was in nearly the same clothing he'd been wearing when she rescued him, and his boots kicked up little flurries of sand as he walked, clearly deep in thought. The sunset over the water turned his skin gold and made his eyes seem to glow. It was perfect.

"Ready?" she whispered, glancing over at Flounder. He nodded eagerly, bobbing up and down on the waves. "Go!" 

In a flash, Flounder was off, skimming across the top of the water. He reached the edge of the water, as close in as he could manage, and started flopping around. "Hey!" Flounder shouted, fins churning and splashing. "Hey! Over here!"

Eric turned, attracted by the noise. "What's..." He shaded his eyes as he peered into the ocean, taking a step forward into the surf.

Ariel panicked. She ducked back down behind her rock, hanging on by her fingertips and breathing heavily. "Come on, Ariel, you can do it," she told herself. "You saved him. It's just a human. And incredibly handsome human. You can—"

Without warning, Eric peered over the rock she was clinging to. "Hello?" 

Screaming, Ariel let go of the rock and flopped backward. She kicked her fins to duck safely under the water, shooting back to slightly deeper waters. Overhead, she could hear him laughing, a loud, easy sound that sent a warm thrill through her. 

Tentatively, she pushed back to the surface, rising up just enough to stare at him over the water. Eric was wet to the waist, holding on to the rock to keep from being carried back to shore. Above the water, his laughter was even better. 

Behind him, Flounder was giving her a fins-up.

"You scared me," she said, less accusingly than she really wanted to. He was _beautiful_. Not at all like the other humans she'd spied on. And he was _talking to her_.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," he said, smile fading a little. "I saw you hiding back there and had to see. Were you watching me?" 

"Maybe." With a little effort, she rose higher out of the water, until her shoulders were bared to the cool breeze again. "I wanted to see you again." 

His eyes dipped down, and a curious flush rose to his cheeks before he looked her in the face. "Again? I'm sorry, have we met?" Frowning, he squinted at her. Just as Ariel's heart started to sink like a storm-battered ship, his eyes opened wide and he shouted, tumbling off his rock and into the surf. This time, he popped up again almost immediately, shouting, "It's you!" 

"Me?" Her father's warnings echoed in her ears, but Ariel ventured a little closer, twisting her hair nervously. 

"You're the one— the one I've been looking for!" Large, strong hands flailed at the rock again before he finally caught onto a piece of it. The color dropped from his cheeks as he stared at her in awe. "You saved me." The last was said reverentially, so soft it was hard to hear over the waves. 

Ariel blushed and ducked her head, watching as the water played with her hair. "I couldn't let you drown."

"Thank you." 

Her heart skipped. "You're welcome."

They stared at each other for a long minute. Then, in the distance, a voice called. "Eric! Eric, where are you, you blasted boy?" A mop of white fur that could only be a dog bounced down the beach, barking, looking for something. Even Ariel could tell that it wouldn't be long before it found them. 

Fear clenched her throat. If she was caught by other humans... "I have to go!" she said hurriedly, swimming away a little. 

"No! Wait!" Muscles bulged under his wet shirt as he climbed higher onto the rock, water dripping down into his eyes. "When can I see you again?"

"I don't— I can't—" The barking was getting closer, and she could see the top of the old man's head coming around a pile of rocks. Flounder swam in circles, trying to get her to move out into safer waters, but she couldn't just _leave_ him and she didn't know when she'd be back. But she had to do _something_.

Resolve stiffened, Ariel dove into the surf, speeding up to the rock with two hard flicks of her tail. She rose out of the water high enough to grab his shoulders and press a hard kiss to his lips. Then she twisted and dove back in, vanishing under the waves.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Plan A by Tsukinofaerii [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/778979) by [illutu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/illutu/pseuds/illutu), [Rhea314 (Rhea)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhea/pseuds/Rhea314)




End file.
